Spider-Menace76: Welcome back! Hehe. It was foreshadowing, just for something else :D Actually, there's a lot of foreshadowing in this whole thing, apparently I really like using it lol.

Krumelmonster: Noo don't worry, this chapter is safe. Actually, no awful business for a while now. I mean, they just got together. I wouldn't do that haha. :)

Miskwi: Oh you have no idea how happy your review made me! :D Seriously, thank you SO much! :)

TheAlienHeart: Don't we all? Haha. But life is even more fun than fairytales, I think. Also, there'll eventually be some suffering, but ultimately I'm a sucker for happy endings. :D And this is definitely a BBRAE fic all the way hehe.

All I Want For Christmas Is You

Last Christmas had been canceled in Titan Tower, due to Raven being kidnapped by Slade and his pack of creeps back then. But this year they were all together and healthy and they'd just stopped the end of the world a few weeks ago. So this year, Christmas was definitely a go. The tower was nicely decorated and cozier than ever. Terra, Speedy, Aqualad and Bumblebee came over to spend the holidays with them. They had all gotten much closer after spending so much time together. Terra and Speedy were officially together now. Cyborg and Jinx on the other hand were officially over, but neither of them was dating anyone else.

Raven and Garfield hadn't had sex since that night when she'd pressed him against the wall. She'd told him they needed to wait for some mysterious reason she couldn't fully explain at the moment. The shapeshifter told her he was fine with it because he didn't want to seem greedy or eager, but now that they were officially together, resisting her got much harder. And she had been meditating more often and working on controlling her powers around him, so they could kiss without exploding things now. Not that they did it as much as Kory and Dick, because Raven wasn't a fan of kissing in front of other people.

But still, now that they often made out on quiet corners, in her room, on the roof or by the rocks outside, he just wanted her so much more desperately. His main concern was she'd regretted using those bracelets and didn't want to do it again, which he could understand. They had been the reason for her suffering and they probably just symbolized oppression to her. He had been amazed at the fact she'd let him put them on her and that she'd been willing to give him that kind of control, but now he felt like maybe she'd changed her mind. Not that that would change his mind about them. Nothing could do that. To be fair, sex wasn't even his main concern. His main concern was she would wake up one day wondering what the hell she was thinking and tell him to get lost.

Raven had very different concerns. Her main concern was her boyfriend wanted to sleep in her room every single night. She liked having him there, but every night was a lot, and he didn't allow her a lot of alone time during the day either. She missed her privacy and solitude and she wished he gave her a chance to miss him, but every time she tried to bring it up he thought he'd done something wrong and that she wanted to break up with him, so she backed off. The last thing Raven wanted was to hurt him and she figured this was probably normal for the first month of a relationship and would get better in time. Besides, every time he smiled that toothy smile at her, all her concerns went away. And this was the happiest she had ever been by far. Today wasn't the day for concerns anyway. Today was Christmas' Eve.

The empath was drinking her morning tea when Garfield came in singing his new favorite song and started making breakfast and shooting her flirty looks. It was much more obvious than his previous serenades since now he sang Stutter (Maroon 5) and made her blush deeply every time. It started right after they got together. At some point later that night, that song started playing and he leaned his head on her shoulder and sang every word to her, making Raven alternate between rolling her eyes, looking away all flustered and accidentally exploding even more of the Hall of Justice. In fact, she was sure if it hadn't been for their rather essential contribution in battle, they would have been kicked out by Superman himself. But ever since, Garfield would sing the cheesy, naughty verses to her every chance he got. It was sweet.

Terra elbowed Speedy. "Why don't you ever sing to me?"

"Yes, why is that?" Starfire folded her arms and narrowed her eyes at Nightwing.

Both boys glared slightly at the shapeshifter for raising the bar, but he just continued his carefree singing, and then he brought his breakfast to the kitchen counter and suddenly pulled Raven's hood down, kissing her cheek. She let out a quiet gasp and he beamed.

Bumblebee raised an eyebrow at the pair. "You're like, disgustingly sweet."

"That is entirely his merit – or fault." Raven said stoically as Garfield sat beside her.

Aqualad smirked. "Oh, we know."

The Changeling glared at him. He didn't love these subtle provocations or the way he looked at his girlfriend.

"Oh but you have your moments too, Rae." Kory smiled and then she turned to Terra who was already grinning knowingly at her.

They looked at each other, making a poor imitation of Raven's determinate stare and deep voice from when Garfield almost bled to death, and spoke in unison. "No! He will not die!"

It was easy to joke about it now, obviously. And it had become a recurring thing. Starfire fully understood Raven by now and she knew her friend expressed through actions rather than words. She also knew that the Changeling didn't fully understand this yet. So she constantly teased them to try and get him to realize how much her best friend loved him. This particular cute impression bit she did with Terra was one of her favorites. Garfield chuckled breezily and everyone else laughed loudly, but the empath just rolled her eyes.

"You all suck. I'll never save any of your lives ever again." Raven said bluntly.

They laughed harder because Starfire laughed harder, and if Kory had laughed it was because she could tell Raven wasn't actually upset.

"Not even mine!?" Garfield faked absolute outrage.

"Not even yours. You're laughing with them." The empath calmly sipped her tea.

The shapeshifter bit his lip to stop laughing.

"Too late. I saw it."

"Oh c'mon, honeeey."

Raven cringed. "Didn't we talk about this?"

Garfield sighed loudly. "No, you said you didn't like baby, babe, sweetheart and sweetie."

"Oh. Well, add honey to that list." The sorcerer said plainly.

Terra chuckled. "You haven't found a pet name you like yet?"

"Nope." Raven sipped her tea again.

"How about gorgeous or beautiful?" Starfire beamed.

The Changeling smiled at Raven, who just wrinkled her nose.

"How about cutie or cutiepie?" Terra laughed, already anticipating Raven's reaction.

The empath just stared at her as if she was insane.

"You've been dating for like a month, how do you not know what to call each other yet?" Bumblebee chuckled.

"I know, right!? I keep telling her!" The Changeling waved his hands around.

Raven shrugged. "I don't see why we would need these silly names at all."

"Because I still don't know what to call you!" Garfield grunted dramatically.

Raven stood up and went to wash her mug. "You can call me Rae and I'll call you Gar."

Beast Boy rolled his eyes. "No that doesn't work because it's not relationshipy enough."

The empath raised an eyebrow at him to remind him who he was dating.

"How about just…love?" Nightwing shruged.

The Changeling and Raven both stiffened slightly. She hadn't actually said the L-word and she really wasn't that comfortable with that word in a romantic context, which is why Garfield didn't say it again after that first night. Starfire elbowed her clueless boyfriend.

"Er…what about pumpkin? Sugar? Boo? Cupcake?" Cyborg kept suggesting one name after the other while Raven cringed further and frowned deeper with each one, making everyone laugh.

Garfield shot his best friend a grateful look for lightening the mood.

"How about darling?" Speedy tried again.

Raven practically shivered. "Ugh. I hate all of that."

Garfield hugged her from behind and rested his chin on her left shoulder. "Light of my life?"

"Too long."

"Sunshine, then."

"Too ironic."

"Angel?"

"Too polemic."

"Soulmate? Better half?"

"Too cheesy."

"My downfall, then." The shapeshifter chuckled.

"Cute. But no. Too dramatic."

"Pet?"

"Is that a joke?"

Raven turned her head to see him grinning cheekily at her while everyone laughed light-heartedly. She narrowed her eyes, thinking she might actually use that last one later.

"Nobody asked me, but I think they all sound extremely lame." Damian pointed out.

Richard playfully pushed his brother off his seat. Robin grumbled and grumpily sat down again.

"So do I. So I guess you'll all have to do better if this is so important to you." Raven said, getting out of Garfield's embrace and going back to the kitchen counter.

Bumblebee smiled fondly at the empath. "Rae, we all call you Rae by now. I'm sure you can authorize him to call you something special."

The Changeling grinned widely. "Exactly, thank you! Did you know she won't even let me take her out on a date!?"

Raven rolled her eyes at the exaggerated outraged reaction she got from most of them for that. Then she glared at her boyfriend, feeling rather irritated by all the unnecessary exposure. "Thank you, Garfield."

Fuck. She hates you. The Changeling's eyes widened enormously. He suddenly felt scared. "Sorry! I didn't mean to. I'm sorry."

The empath frowned, now extremely confused. "Wait, are you scared of me or something?" She looked at their other friends' equally confused faces. "Is this a bit? Cyborg?"

The half-robot just shrugged and shook his head.

"No! Of course I'm not!" Garfield seemed even more worried now. "I just, I…I didn't think. And now you're mad at me."

Raven's frown deepened. "Gar, it's fine. I'm not-"

"Please don't break up with me." He whispered.

It was her turn to be wide-eyed. "Wait, what?!"

Raven wasn't the only one wide-eyed, because no one understood what was happening. Garfield just bit his lip and stared at her for a few more seconds while holding his breath.

The empath shook her head and frowned again. "What are you talking about? I'm not breaking up with you, why would you think that?"

The Changeling exhaled in relief. "I…you were mad at me."

Raven rolled her eyes. "More like slightly annoyed. And I'm sure I'll feel that way many more times. That doesn't mean I want to break up with you."

"Yeah man, Kory is slightly annoyed at me all the time." Richard chuckled.

Starfire smiled. "That is the truth."

"Terra is always annoyed at me, I think." Speedy laughed.

Terra rolled her eyes, but then she nodded happily in confirmation.

Garfield scratched his neck. He was too fucking scared of losing her. It drove him insane sometimes. "Right…yeah, totally. Guess I am a little dramatic."

Raven made a mental note to talk to him about this at some point because it was rather alarming. But right now she decided to get the conversation back on track. "Anyway, dates are for people who are trying to get to know each other. We've known each other for years."

Terra rested her chin on her hands and smiled sweetly. "It can also be about spending time together doing something different and fun."

Garfield waved both his hands towards Terra and stared intently at Raven. "See!?"

The sorcerer's face remained stoic as ever but she actually thought he looked really cute acting all exasperated like this. "Fine, we'll go on a date."

The Changeling dropped his arms and his eyes widened. "…did I just win one?"

"Of course not. You didn't convince me, Terra did." Raven smirked and then stood up. Enough socializing for now.

Garfield looked outraged for a second while Terra beamed, but then he grinned widely. "But…we can start going on dates?"

"Sure, I guess." The empath said plainly, floating away to go find a good book.

The Changeling followed after her like a tail.

"Hey, Raven! Maybe you should call him pet! Or puppy!" Aqualad joked referring to the way the shapeshifter followed her around.

"She can if she wants to, dude! I don't care!" Garfield merrily shouted back just before entering Raven's room with her.

Aqualad rolled his eyes in frustration. That wasn't the reaction he wanted.

Inside the sorcerer's room, she sat on her bed to read and he stood there awkwardly for a few seconds, so she looked up. "Do you want to read with me?" Garfield grinned gratefully and she scooched over so he could sit next to her. "Hey, Gar…" Raven said casually. "Don't you miss your room? I mean, you haven't spent a night there in forever."

"Oh, I go there all the time. Besides, you're not in my room." He smiled tenderly.

"Right. Don't you miss playing video games with Cyborg?"

"I still do that."

The empath frowned. "When?"

"Mostly while you meditate for hours every day." The shapeshifter chuckled.

"Right...that makes sense." She nodded slowly. "By the way, he kept stealing glances at Karen during breakfast. And he was feeling all regretful. Do you know anything about that?"

Garfield bit his lip. "Yeah…I think he took too long to realize he likes her. Now she doesn't want him anymore."

Raven sighed. "I was afraid of this."

He frowned. "So she's really over him, then."

The empath narrowed her eyes at her boyfriend. "If I tell you…"

The Changeling straightened up and shook his head. "Oh, I won't tell him. I promise. My lips are sealed. I know the rules."

Raven studied him for a moment and decided she could trust him. He was emanating an insane amount of loyalty. "She still likes him. But I think him taking so long to decide hurt her feelings. She doesn't want to feel like a second choice, you know?"

Garfield grunted. "She's not. She's such a better match for him!"

The sorcerer smiled slightly. "I think so too."

"Maybe we should-"

"No."

"But-"

"Garfield. Don't meddle. Let them figure it out." Raven said warningly.

Beast Boy sighed loudly in frustration. "Fiiiine."

She opened her book again. "So, listen…do you think maybe I could be alone for a few hours?"

"I thought you meditated already."

"I did…" Raven said carefully. "But…" She glanced at his eager face and lost all motivation in her quest for solitude. So she just leaned in and kissed him sweetly instead.

Garfield was pleasantly surprised and immediately kissed her back, smiling against her lips.

"Never mind." Raven whispered before pulling away and leaning on him to read together.

It was a fun, wholesome day. Raven and Garfield eventually joined the others and they all watched Christmas movies and ate the Christmas cookies Cyborg made – or the vegan ones that Raven made – while sharing stories and laughter.

"These are amazing. You're amazing. Thank you." Garfield whispered to his girlfriend before having another vegan Christmas cookie.

The empath looked at him and his face was full of crumbs. It made him look really cute and it absolutely warmed her heart.

"What?" He asked with his mouth full. Then he immediately remembered she didn't like that and covered it with his hand. "Sorry." Garfield swallowed and then tried again. "What?"

Raven allowed an amused smile to take over her features. "You have some…here." She gently wiped his face with her sleeve to remove the crumbs.

The Changeling's heart raced because of her tenderness and he smiled widely. "Thanks."

"Hey BB, what do you think?" Cyborg suddenly asked.

"Huh?" Garfield hadn't heard a single word his friends had said.

"We're arguing about what went on in Donnie Darko. Did you get it?" Damian raised an eyebrow.

"Of course he did. I mean, he was Donnie for Halloween, wasn't he?" Aqualad teased.

"No, I didn't. That was just an attempt to look cool. I'm way too dumb for that movie." The shapeshifter said breezily.

Aqualad felt beyond frustrated. Once again, that wasn't the reaction he wanted. Why does he keep doing that?

Garfield realized his girlfriend was frowning at him and shrugged. "What?"

"You're not too dumb for that movie; you just didn't pay attention to it. You said the bunny creeped you out and you kept texting on your phone all the time." She answered.

"First of all, that is not a bunny. Bunnies are delightful. Second of all, that's not important, I would be too dumb for that movie even if I paid attention and you know it."

"Oh, do I?" Raven narrowed her eyes.

The shapeshifter smiled sheepishly at her. "C'mon, you're not with me for my brains."

"Oh, aren't I?"

"Rae, you know what I mean."

"Do I?"

Garfield couldn't help but chuckle. "Stop that."

"Tell me what you're talking about."

"Well, it's me. I'm the dumb one." He rolled his eyes. "Which is fine, it's just…what's the point in trying to get Donnie Darko, you know? I mean, what are the chances?"

"You're not dumb."

Garfield huffed and rolled his eyes again.

Raven frowned. "What? You're not."

"Rae, you call me idiot and stupid all the time. I mean, you're all cute about it, but…you know I'm not smart."

She sat up straight. "That's insane. When I call you stupid or idiotic, I don't mean dumb."

Garfield frowned. "Okay now I'm even more confused than when I watched Donnie Darko." When his girlfriend just rolled her eyes, he chuckled. "What do you mean, then?"

Raven pondered. "Reckless, gullible, impulsive, immature, naïve, emotional, dramatic, silly…it really depends; I can mean a lot of things. But never dumb. I do not think you're dumb."

"Wait, so…" The Changeling's surprised expression turned into a blissful one and his goofy grin came back. "You don't think I'm dumb."

"I don't think you're dumb. In fact, I know you're not."

"Well…I guess I'm watching Donnie Darko again." He said confidently.

Raven smiled genuinely and ran a hand through his hair. "Idiot."

After a delicious dinner, everyone said goodnight and Garfield grunted in frustration. "Are you sure we can't open just one present tonight?"

"That's not how it works, Changeling. See you tomorrow." Richard answered calmly.

"I have an early Christmas gift." Raven blurted out. When everyone stared at her, she took a deep breath. "I got rid of my power-blockers."

The only person with mixed feelings about it was Garfield. He smiled like everyone else, because after all those would always be a concern in the back of her mind as long as they existed, but there was a twinge of sorrow behind it because they were the only way they could be intimate – at least in this world, so unless Raven was willing to randomly open up portals to destroyed worlds every time…

"How did you destroy them?" Richard asked her.

"I didn't. They were made for me and whoever made them is mighty, I couldn't destroy them. And I don't know anyone that could. But…they're in X-Men Mansion right now."

Nightwing's eyes widened slightly. "Right. Brilliant."

Raven shrugged. "When I contacted Strange about the Heart of Darkness, I may have asked for more than one favor."

Cyborg grinned hugely. "Well it's awesome to know we don't need to worry about that anymore! Great news, Rae."

Starfire beamed. "Amazing news."

"I agree." Raven said plainly, already floating to her room. "Well, goodnight, everyone."

Isn't she going to talk to me about it? I mean, obviously I can't expect her to keep the key to her demise in this world just so we can have sex but won't she even address it? What if she's getting rid of them BECAUSE of me? Is this her way of breaking up with me? The Changeling stared at the floor with a frown on his face, unsure of whether he should follow her or not. The others were saying goodnight as well and he stayed like that for a few seconds. Then he looked up when her scent got stronger again. Raven had come back from her room and was staring quizzically at him.

"Aren't you coming?" She asked softly.

Oh, good. He smiled at her. "Yeah."

Raven wrapped her hand around his wrist and pulled him gently – but firmly – all the way to her room. Garfield's smile widened.

Once they were inside, she tilted her head to the side. "Don't feel bad."

He bit his lip, feeling ashamed that she could sense he wasn't totally happy for her. "I'm so sorry. I'm so selfish."

Raven rolled her eyes. "No, it's just…there's a part two to my early Christmas gift."

The Changeling raised his eyebrows. "Oh?"

"I couldn't keep those things in this world…you understand that, right?"

"Yeah, totally!" Garfield said quickly. "I…I shouldn't have expected…"

Raven was going to continue, but then she detected concern and fear. "What's wrong?"

He frowned and hesitated. "Was it…was it a bad experience…when we used them?"

It was Raven's turn to frown. "Are you insane? Garfield, I didn't get rid of them because of you. I didn't mind it one bit when you…" She blushed and rolled her eyes before whispering her next words. "I didn't mind it when you were the one to use them. I trust you, okay?"

And just like that, Garfield was beaming again. She didn't mind giving me control. That means a lot coming from her, right?

"I just can't have those lying around for every villain to grab. I mean, Klarion used them and then they got stolen and I spent the worst eight months of my existence wearing them, then they nearly got stolen again by Red-X…it's too stressful."

The Changeling nodded in agreement. Now that he thought about it, nothing was worth that risk. "You're right. And it's all good, we don't need to…you know."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "Oh. Don't we? Guess I don't need to tell you about the second part of my gift, then."

His heart raced dangerously and he narrowed his eyes. "…wait, what?"

"Well, besides enhancing the Heart of Darkness I also worked with the magical dream team on this." Raven showed him her hand – it was holding a purple crystal.

The shapeshifter blinked and nodded. "Uh…that's a very pretty rock."

Raven chuckled lightly. "No, Gar. We used the magic in those artefacts to make this. It takes my power away as long as it's activated and in the same room as me."

She tossed the crystal to him and he caught it in shock.

"But…won't that be the same problem? What if it gets stolen?"

Raven shook her head. "The difference is…I'm the one who activates and deactivates that." She pointed at the crystal in his hands and chanted something in Latin, making it glow and emanate magical vibrations all around her room.

Garfield just watched in awe with wide eyes. Holy shit.

The empath put her hands up in the air and smiled a little. "There. Totally powerless." Then she chanted the words again. The glow around the crystal went away and her hands glowed with dark energy instead. "And I'm back. See? I hold the key to my own trap now."

The Changeling's smile got bigger and greedier. His eyes darkened with desire.

"I've been testing it for the last month. I didn't want to use it without being completely sure…but, it works." She smiled seductively. "But hey, if you think we don't need to…"

Garfield grabbed her wrist and quickly pulled her into a passionate kiss. He tangled his fingers in her hair and deepened the kiss, pressing his body against hers. Raven chuckled softly into his lips then pulled away to activate her crystal. Purple vibrations involved her room and she pulled out his shirt then pushed him against the wall. Garfield kissed her clumsily and urgently, only stopping to help her take off her clothes. Then he went to kiss her again, but she stopped him with a finger on his lips.

"It's Christmas. I have another idea." The sorcerer whispered, pulling her hair into a ponytail.

His expression gradually shifted from confusion to utter shock and then to slightly dangerous lust as she got on her knees and unbuckled his pants, looking up at him with a sensual smirk on her face. Garfield stuttered gibberish as his heart raced and his skin tingled and flushed. The sight of Raven on her knees in front of him was more than enough to get him turned on, but then there was also the way she was looking up at him and what she was probably about to do. Is this what I think it is!?

Raven averted her gaze to his crotch at eye level. "I have no idea why I've never done this, but…" She whispered before looking back up into his expectant, lustful eyes. "Merry Christmas, Gar."

The Changeling moaned loudly and trembled slightly while she made him feel heavenly. He tangled his fingers in her hair as gently as his current levels of pleasure and adrenaline allowed him – it was still a little rough though. And then he whispered her name, panted heavily and smiled blissfully before his eyes rolled back in his head.

The shapeshifter kept his eyes closed as he slowed his breathing and then he looked down at her in the most loving way, with his hands still resting on her head. She was staring up at him with her mouth full. Raven waited until he was looking and swallowed. His eyes widened and he stroked her hair.

The empath smiled naughtily. "You can call me pet now, if you want."

Holy shit she's being kinky. His already wide eyes became full of shock and lust again and he smiled in awe. "Raven, you're filthy."

The sorcerer's eyes glistened mischievously. "I'm half-demon, what did you expect?"

Garfield laughed breezily. "I'm the luckiest guy in the world." He whispered in absolute joy, caressing her cheek and fully aware she was still on her knees.

"That's debatable." She chuckled. This whole thing had been for him, but she had fun doing it. Watching what it did to him definitely turned her on.

The Changeling rested his head against the wall with a carefree smile on his face. "No, I am. I'm not worthy."

Raven slowly stood up, kissing his stomach and chest on her way up, making him moan again. Then she finally reached his lips and kissed him deeply, pulling away to firmly hold his face in her hands, becoming dominant again. "I'll be the judge of that."

The flustered shapeshifter felt his chest ache in the best possible way and grinned sweetly at her. "Okay, whatever you say. Make all my decisions. Take my whole life, I don't care."

Raven giggled and pulled him to her bed, getting on top of him and kissing him passionately. "You're adorable, pet." She whispered against his lips.

Garfield's heart skipped a beat. He chuckled and blushed as she kissed down his neck. I can't remember ever being this happy. "I don't think you have the slightest idea what you do to me."

She kissed him lazily for a while until he was ready again. And then they pleased each other. Raven straddled him first and he loved watching her body from where he was lying down, it drove him absolutely crazy. She was very aware of it and she didn't need powers for that. His intense gaze on her made her feel all…exposed. But it felt nice. Then she lay on top of him and they became an entangled, intertwined mess of arms and legs in a sweaty and steamy mix of pain and pleasure.

When she woke up, Raven could feel a sleepy Garfield nuzzling her chest. "Mmm, morning?"

The Changeling smiled and hugged her tighter. "Morning, my life. Can I call you my life?"

The softest chuckle escaped Raven's lips. "Still with the silly names?" She glanced at the clock and happily realized it wasn't morning yet.

"You used them last night." Garfield started planting sweet kisses on her breasts.

Raven smiled fondly, with a glint of mischief. "Well pet is just a bedroom name. We don't use it outside that door."

"Mmmmkay, gotcha. But what about life?"

"It's too intense."

"Well, I'm intense."

"Yes, I know."

He sighed then lazily looked up at her with sleepy eyes. "My queen? My Goddess?"

Raven smiled at him. "Those are bedroom names too, actually."

"Mama?" Garfield grinned cheekily.

She blushed and rolled her eyes. "I don't think so."

The Changeling chuckled. "What about you? What are you calling me?"

Raven sighed. "Maybe I'll just call you trouble. It's what you are."

The shapeshifter laughed louder. "I love it." He rested his head on her shoulder again and hugged her even tighter.

The empath grunted a little. "Garfield, you're squeezing me."

He loosened his grip a bit. "Sorry. It's just that…" I love you so much. "I adore you."

Garfield didn't fail to notice she sighed contently at that and held him too. He smiled peacefully as they drifted off to sleep again.

"Gar? C'mon. The sun's out." Raven gently shook her boyfriend when she woke up again.

Beast Boy buried his head on her shoulder and wrapped his arms and legs around her firmly. "Nope. Not moving."

She rolled her eyes in amusement and then wrapped her own arms around him and kissed the top of his head. "Is that so?"

"That's right." The Changeling moved slightly to lay his head on her chest. "And you can't move either. I won't let you."

Raven was absolutely entertained. She smirked. "Oh, you won't let me, huh?"

"Mmhmm."

She sighed and ran her fingers through his hair. "Then I suppose I have no choice."

Raven really couldn't move a whole lot while he was lying on top of her like that. Obviously, she had a choice – if she told him to, he would move in a heartbeat. Not to mention a few words in Latin and her powers would be back. But playing along was much more fun.

"That's right, you're trapped." Garfield said childishly. She giggled softly and his heart soared at the sound. "It's your own fault for being all warm and smooth and cozy." The shapeshifter whispered sweetly, nuzzling her chest and massaging her body with his hands.

"Mmm, I see." Raven closed her eyes and enjoyed his blissful touch until she decided it really was time to get up. Then she whispered in a playful voice. "Well, that's too bad…because it's Christmas morning."

Garfield's eyes shot open and his stupid gigantic grin replaced his lazy dreamy smile. The empath glanced at his excited face and chanted the words to get her powers back, because he was obviously ready to get up.

Everyone waited until Richard and Kory joined them in the ops room. Raven noticed how flushed and happy Starfire was and figured they weren't the only ones who'd had some fun on Christmas' Eve. That was another advantage of this whole enchanted crystal thing. Whenever she sensed someone else's uncomfortable emotions, she could just go to her room and tune out for a bit. It would have been useful during their time in the Hall of Justice, but all she had back then were the bracelets and she didn't want to risk the wrong person finding her with those on.

Once everyone was there, they sat on the floor and started opening presents. Raven and Starfire got each other the same thing – a best friend's mug with a purple-haired girl and a tall redhead on their backs. It was personalized so they came out a little different, but it was still freakishly sweet. Richard got Kory earrings with gigantic emeralds the same color as her eyes. Raven gratefully unwrapped the book she got from Cyborg, the combat boots she got from Dick and the leather jacket Terra gave her, along with her other gifts. She also watched Garfield open his gifts with his usual childish joy and it made her all warm and fuzzy inside. If she was being honest, she was starting to get a bit emotional. The fact that Cyborg kept letting his eyes linger on Bumblebee and hurting for her wasn't helping.

Damian beamed with Nightwing's gift. It was a whole new set of high-tech weaponry, including a new and improved utility belt, a bo-staff and a specially made sword. Dick had noticed he liked using blades. The young Robin's gifts were surprisingly heartfelt. He actually found Richard a well-preserved Flying Graysons poster, a tie from his dad and an old family photo. He got Tamaranean objects from a secretive collector so Kory didn't miss it as much. He figured out a solution for an inconvenient glitch Victor had been dealing with since they battled Darkseid. He donated a considerable amount of money to animal shelters in Garfield's name. And Raven opened her gift from him to find extensive research on divine dimensions with a note that read not done yet, but I'll get there. She looked up at him questioningly.

"Gotta figure out how to sneak you into Heaven, right?" Damian said pointedly.

The empath's eyes widened and she silently stared at her gift again. Robin received an extremely grateful look from the Changeling. Damian knew the shapeshifter would appreciate the empath's gift just as much as her – maybe even more – so he just nodded at him.

"None of our gifts to you were good enough. We'll do better next year!" Garfield told him through an emotional smile.

Damian just scoffed and dismissed it entirely. He also avoided his brother's gaze because he could tell Richard wanted to hug him. "It's not a big deal; most of it didn't cost anything, so really I was just being cheap."

Avoiding Nightwing's gaze didn't save him. Dick pulled him into a tight hug and Starfire immediately joined.

"Help. Raven?" Damian struggled against Kory's tight embrace and turned to his ally for help. Surely enough he phased through the hug with magic, but as soon as he went to thank her, he saw tears in her eyes as well and sighed. "Even you, Doomsday?"

Raven rolled her watery eyes, not allowing a single tear to drop. "Give me a break, last Christmas I was…you know." Her friends frowned and smiled at her at the same time and Garfield instinctively moved closer to her. She just shrugged. "Don't mind me, I just…it makes me really appreciate this. And you guys. And Damian, this is an amazing gift. It doesn't matter if it works or not, just…thanks for trying."

The young Robin gave her a genuine smile. They all continued unwrapping their presents with light-hearted conversation. The Changeling got new video games, some fun t-shirts for animal lovers and a vegan cooking book. He left Raven's gift for last because she'd told him to. When she finally went to open his gift for her though, he held his breath. Raven eyed him suspiciously when she picked up the small box.

"Don't worry, I'm not that pushy." Garfield quickly joked. He could have gotten her a ring for sure if he thought she would like that, but they had been together for only a month or so – even he knew that would be insane.

The empath relaxed and opened the small box. And then her eyes widened and welled up again. She spent several seconds staring at what was inside in awe and everyone else became extremely curious.

"Do you…like it?" The Changeling asked hesitantly. She was still really difficult to read and he was starting to get nervous.

"I…it's…how did you…?" Raven looked up at him with narrowed eyes. "Garfield Logan, did you steal this? Or actually, did you get Damian to steal this?"

"What? Of course not!" The shapeshifter answered in outrage as the others chuckled.

The empath returned her gaze to the content of the box. How did he afford this? It was a necklace. It was the most beautiful necklace she had ever seen. "It's…perfect."

Garfield finally exhaled and beamed proudly, fully enjoying how mesmerized she looked examining her new gift.

"Enough suspense, I want to know what it is!" Terra whined, reaching out for the box.

Raven wasn't sure who yanked it from her hands, but she felt really annoyed watching all her friends breathing over her gift as they admired it.

"Wow, that is so you, Rae!"

"How did you pay for this, man? It looks expensive."

"It's like it was made for her."

It was delicate, dark and intricate, all at the same time. Several white-gold ravens were gracefully flying in different directions or landing, intercalated by small purple gemstones such as amethysts, purple tanzanites and lavender quartzes.

The box was encased in dark energy and returned to Raven's hand. She carefully pulled the necklace out by the white-gold chain and handed it to Garfield while pulling her hair up with her free hand. "Put it on me?"

The Changeling wasn't sure why that felt so good, but it did. It made him feel incredible. He took the necklace from her and she turned her back to him, still holding her hair up. Garfield gently placed it around her neck, wondering why he felt so nervous doing it.

Raven let her hair down and touched the necklace with her fingertips, turning around to smile softly but affectionately at her boyfriend. "Thank you."

The others were a little taken aback by this unusual and much sweeter version of her, especially when the shapeshifter got on all fours to reach and give her a quick kiss and she kissed him back and blushed. He really did bring out a whole other side of her.

"Your turn." Raven said when he sat down again.

Garfield grinned excitedly and grabbed his gift from her. It was flat. He furrowed his brows looking focused and tore the wrapping paper to reveal a sketchbook and color pencils. It was slightly underwhelming but he wasn't going to hurt her feelings so he just smiled at her.

"Oh, that's not your gift." Raven said blankly.

The shapeshifter frowned and tilted his head. "Oh?"

"You'll just need that to make me see it." The empath continued in her casual monotone. "You've been talking about a new uniform a lot, so…that's your gift."

Now he looked even more confused. So did everyone else.

Raven sighed. "You said you've been wearing the same thing since Doom Patrol and you want a new look. You said you know exactly what you want but you have no idea how much it would cost. Make me see it. Draw what you want. I'll make it happen." She explained as if it was the simplest, most obvious thing in the world, but they still seemed confused. "You know, I'll…materialize it. Conjure it. Make it real."

Garfield's face suddenly lit up with blissful joy. Everyone else was in shock, though.

Speedy gasped. "Wait, you can do that!?"

The empath shrugged nonchalantly. "Of course I can."

"Don't you people get that she can do anything?" The Changeling bragged as he immediately and excitedly began sketching.

Raven rolled her eyes.

"Did we know about this?" Nightwing whispered to Starfire.

"Hold up! Can you conjure food!? And would it taste good!?" Cyborg narrowed his eyes.

The sorcerer frowned. "I…don't know. I've never tried conjuring food."

"But…but why not!?" The half-robot squeaked.

"Because we have food." Raven answered pointedly, feeling slightly confused.

"Right but then we wouldn't have to buy food!" Cyborg flailed his arms around.

"You're the coolest girlfriend in the world." Garfield muttered as he colored his sketch.

"Actually…" Nightwing frowned and smiled at the same time, looking pleasantly intrigued. "…why do we bother buying anything?"

"Yeah! I mean, what's with all this gift-shopping if she can just create all this stuff out of nothing!?" Aqualad asked.

They were getting more and more excited and Raven's eyes suddenly widened in fear at the prospect of being summoned to materialize things every time someone broke something or simply wanted new shoes. She was starting to profoundly regret this gift idea.

"C'mon guys, obviously it demands a significant amount of magic." Bumblebee said, earning a grateful look from the empath. "I'm sure doing it wears her down."

Starfire suddenly realized she needed to get over her own excitement and defend her friend as well. She turned to Nightwing. "Besides, babe, you get all our money from Bruce anyway."

Richard rolled his eyes. "Still, I mean, none of us got free new uniforms."

"Well none of us sleep with her." Terra giggled.

Everyone laughed loudly at that – including Garfield – and Raven wished she was wearing her cape, because she could tell she was blushing. And she was still fearfully paralyzed because of the general direction the entire conversation had taken.

"She could at least materialize a new TV and video game setting or something." Cyborg suggested.

Damian smiled mischievously. "The couch has been begging to be replaced."

"And imagine what we could do with more advanced training equipment…" Nightwing pondered, rubbing his chin.

Raven folded her arms in utter annoyance. "I'm not a genie, you know?"

"That's riiight!" The Changeling suddenly shouted. "She's my girlfriend, so step aside!" He pushed everyone out of the way and handed Raven his sketch with a huge grin on his face.

The empath examined it carefully and nodded. She wasn't saying it out loud, but she thought it was kind of sexy. "Sure, I can make this."

Garfield joyfully stood up and Raven focused and conjured the new red and white uniform on his body. It hugged him in the most flattering way in all the right places. There were no more sleeves so his arms were exposed now and the colors contrasted nicely with his shade of green. Everyone gasped and watched in awe then praised the shapeshifter's new look with various degrees of excitement. Raven just felt her cheeks get slightly warmer.

"So…" Garfield struck a pose in front of his girlfriend. "How do I look?"

Devilish. Raven rolled her eyes to gather her thoughts, because she felt a little flustered. "You look very nice."

The Changeling beamed at her. "Will it handle the shapeshifting like the other one?"

"What do you take me for, an amateur? Change all you want, it'll be there when you turn human again." The sorcerer answered surely.

Aqualad sighed. "I kinda want a genie girlfriend too now."

Garfield's head instantly turned to him, openly glaring at the aquatic Titan. "Well go find one elsewhere cause this one is mine!"

Raven scowled before Aqualad could even respond. It wasn't so much what he said, but how he said it – and how he felt, which was awfully territorial. Maybe it was an animal DNA thing, but still. "Excuse me? I'm not anyone's. I'm your girlfriend, not your property."

Several ooohs that implied the shapeshifter was in trouble were heard.

The Changeling's eyes widened. "Nooo I didn't mean it like that!"

The empath knew he kind of meant it like that a little, but she decided to let it slide. It was Christmas and he looked really cute. Besides, she could be a little territorial too. She softened her face. "Good to know. And I do like this uniform. But more importantly, do you?"

Garfield relaxed and beamed at her again. "I love it. Thank you…" He trailed off because he wanted to call her something sweet and special. "See? This is why we need relationshipy names. But…thank you."

Raven smiled at him. "I'm glad you like it. I'll make more later."

"You know, this is a really nice drawing, actually." Nightwing had Beast Boy's sketch in his hands and was examining his artistic skills.

"You should see the one he made of m-" The empath suddenly stopped herself mid-sentence.

It was too late. They were all suspicious now.

Damian raised an eyebrow. "Of what, Raven? Of you?"

The sorcerer sighed and turned to Garfield, who just shrugged nonchalantly to let her know he didn't care if they knew. She grunted. "Fine. Yes."

They didn't leave her alone until she went to get the sketch he'd slipped under her door after they got back from X-World and showed it to everyone. Then they all admired it in absolute awe or utter shock – or in Aqualad's case, tried to hide the fact he was impressed.

"This is really beautiful." Starfire whispered, staring at it as if it was alive. "You're welcome."

Everyone turned to the Tamaranean princess with a puzzled look on their faces.

"You know, because this…" Kory gestured between Raven and Garfield. "…this is all my fault. It only really started when I got Rae in a dress."

All I Want For Christmas Is You (Mariah Carey)

Okay so this feels like a season finale or something to me, so I can go on vacation in peace now hahaha

I'll be back in October! There'll be a lot more character development, a lot more drama and a LOT more fluffy romance. See you then and thank you for reading! :D